Would It Be Possible To ....

[Arcane Arcade]

.... build an cabinet with a game console inside? I was wanting to build one for my Dreamcast (I REALLY want to play Shenmue and Slave Zero with arcade controls). Is it possible, or would I have to get a Dreamcast emulator?

If I use an emulator would I still be able to use the lights guns, steering wheels, keyboards etc?

[hypernova]

Definitely.  Changing the games would require opening up the cab, but if you mounted the Dreamcast near an edge that had an opening, you're only limited by your imagination.  For powering everything up, a smartstrip would be ideal.

[Havok]

No emulator required - there are adapters out there, or your could hack the controls. Considering the number of peripherals, I would suggest the adapter route. Check this out:

3-in-1 PC Joy Box

You will want to research what is exactly compatible with it, and experiment with emulators, so you are not limited to just Dreamcast games. (Plus you could make images of your Dreamcast CD's that you own - no more switching discs).

Use the search button - almost everything has been done before here...

[Arcane Arcade]

I'm such an idiot, chaing the games didn't even cross my mind. I guess I've been spoiled by all my emulators. Are there any real Dreamcast emulatos out there? I've downloaded a couple, but I haven't had any luck.

[Havok]

I'm not up on the Dreamcast emulators (I own a Dreamcast, and it's connected to my tv), but have you tried Chankast?

[Arcane Arcade]

My ultimate goal is to make a small arcade in my house. I'm going to make one or two MAME cabinets (I usually have a lot of people over, and it'll just get worse once I have an arcade at home), and a cabinet for each console. I'm not sure what I'm wanting to do with the older consoles though. I'm going to build seperate cabinets for every system (some day). I'm not sure if I want to go the emulator route, or use a design I saw on this site for an NES cabinet where the guy used the actual system instead of a computer. It's going to cost quite a bit either way. I'll need a bunch of crappy computers to just run emulators and maybe some mp3s or every system I want and a ton of games for them. Not to mention the pain of tracking them all down.

Has anyone purcahsed any of the CDs that are supposed to recrate the sounds of an arcade from the 80s? If so, can someone review them for me?

You will want to research what is exactly compatible with it, and experiment with emulators, so you are not limited to just Dreamcast games. (Plus you could make images of your Dreamcast CD's that you own - no more switching discs).

Use the search button - almost everything has been done before here...

[severdhed]

i have a dreamcast in my cabinet, as well as a PC.  I used a gutted x-arcade for the controls, and they sell an adaptor to connect it to the dreamcast...if you want to use a pc monitor, you can get the dreamcast vga adaptor which works really well.

having a dedicated cabinet for each console would be cool, but not very space efficient..not to mention a pain to make arcade to console controller adaptors.  emulation is definatly the way to go.  there are some good emulators that run on the dreamcast as well...i know there are nes, snes and genesis emulators that run on the dreamcast....and the best part of using a dreamcast is that it doesnt require any modifications to play homebrew stuff and emulators.  just mount it where you can easily access it.  mine sits right inside the coin door so i can easily change games.  (soul calibur and ikaruga are awesome on the cabinet)

as for emulating the dreamcast, i am not aware of any emulators that work well enough.  i have tried a few, but they are usually buggy and slow.  i wouldnt reccomend them.(unless you find a good one, in which case i would appreciate being notified)

also, an xbox based system would be good for emulators...if you mod an xbox you can put a big hard drive in it, there are good working emulators for the xbox from everything from the atari 2600 to the playstation. much cheaper than a PC...just a thought.

[NightGod]

Has anyone purcahsed any of the CDs that are supposed to recrate the sounds of an arcade from the 80s? If so, can someone review them for me?

http://arcade.hofle.com/

The Arcade Ambiance project-free DLs, can pay to buy them for a few bucks on CD if your an audiophile and MP3 isn't good enough for you.

[Arcane Arcade]

Yeah I know all that (thanks for the info though), but do they sound good? Do they do a good job of setting the mood of an arcade?

Has anyone purcahsed any of the CDs that are supposed to recrate the sounds of an arcade from the 80s? If so, can someone review them for me?

http://arcade.hofle.com/

The Arcade Ambiance project-free DLs, can pay to buy them for a few bucks on CD if your an audiophile and MP3 isn't good enough for you.

[NightGod]

Download them and have a listen-they're free, all they cost you is a little bandwidth. Only person who can decide if they're right for you is you. I'm happy with them, I like listening to them and picking out games I recognize. Not sure I would ever use them (or anything, for that matter) as a mood setter, but I'm going to at least give it a try now and see how it works out.